Monday, January 9, 2012

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

When Winnie Foster runs away from home and goes walking in the nearby woods, she finds a boy, Jesse Tuck, drinking from a hidden spring. Soon, the Tucks are kidnapping Winnie, because she's discovered their secret: they're immortal, because they drank the water from the spring. They explain to Winnie why she can't tell anyone about their secret, and that there's a dark side to being immortal. Things get complicated, however, when a man follows Winnie and the Tucks and wants to sell the magic water to make his fortune.

Tuck Everlasting is a charming children's classic. While it doesn't go into a deep debate about the pros and cons of immortality, it has a simpler message that is basically if everyone were immortal, soon the world would fill up and that would suck.

Winnie is a funny little girl (she's only 10, unlike in the movie where she's a teenager). And the Tucks are all so lovable. The book is short, so there isn't really deep character development for any of the characters, but I think that's ok since it is a kids' book that's pretty short, and the story is good enough to make up for it.

Also, I have a favourite line, but it would be a bit of a spoiler to tell it to you. So if you read this book (or already have), it's the last line that Tuck says in the book. So funny! :-)

Not off the top of my head; I think I got this in a used book store actually.

Taking a quick look around, I found it on Amazon.ca (but not .com or .co.uk):http://www.amazon.ca/Tuck-Everlasting-Movie-Tie-In/dp/0374480133/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332812531&sr=1-10It's through the marketplace, so it's not free shipping, but there are new and used copies for cheap. :)